Dharun Ravi remained silent during his arraignment in a Middlesex County courtroom on Monday. The 19-year old is accused of remotely activating his webcam in September to spy on a same-sex encounter involving his roommate inside their dorm room.

The parents of the Rutgers University student who killed himself after authorities said his intimate encounter with a man was captured by a webcam don’t want his roommate to receive “harsh punishment.”

Organizers said the conference theme was chosen before 18-year-old Tyler Clementi killed himself after discovering that his roommate allegedly used a webcam to spy on him during a liaison with another man.